Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX) and dYdX produce double digit gains as Bitcoin reclaims $37K

On Nov. 15, several altcoins continued to show strength alongside Bitcoin (BTC) price, which notched an intra-day high at $37,400. Leading into the week, dYdX, Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX) currently reflect double-digit gains, with each chasing after new year-to-date highs. 

The sustained bullish price action from altcoins has led some analysts to declare the arrival of an altcoin season and at the time of writing, the total market cap of the altcoin market has hit a 2023 high at $659.5 billion.

Altcoin price rallies typically involve a slew of factors, some being sentiment-based and others based on project fundamentals. Let’s look at a few of this week’s top market performers to see what catalysts underlie their growth.

dYdX fee switch boosts price

The platform behind the DYDX token is dYdX, which is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that offers futures contracts on EVM blockchains like Ether (ETH). On Oct. 27, dYdX launched its layer-1 blockchain with the creation of its genesis block, which operates using native DYDX tokens. The launch allowed for the on-chain distribution of all fees received to validators and stakers. The protocol update has been fantastic for the DYDX token price, sending it up over 110% in the past 30-days.

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In addition to token price appreciation, the dYdX platform is posting substantial user numbers, including increased fees and revenues. Both metrics have witnessed 77.5% increases to $8.67 million in 30-days. Annualized, this could mean $105.5 million in fees for validators and stakers.

Solana price hits another 2023 high

Solana’s SOL token has had an impressive 30-day return profile, gaining over 166%. Despite reaching a 2023 high on Nov. 10, Solana price is still over 4x below its all-time high of $259.96.

Solana’s price growth has been powered by an uptick in users, which is led by the top-performing dApp on the blockchain, Jito, a liquidity staking platform. Solana’s daily active users also hit a 2023 high on Nov. 10, reaching 200,000. Coinciding with the increase in users, Solana’s revenue has eclipsed $1 million in 30-days, recording a 78.2% increase.

Avalanche’s AVAX token picks up steam

Avalanche is a layer 1 blockchain that is similar to Solana, where validators process transactions and receive tokens. In comparison to Solana and dYdX, Avalanche brings in less revenue, but that hasn’t stopped the token from going on a double-digit run this week.

Despite being relatively smaller, the AVAX token price has been performing well. In the past 7-days, AVAX reached above 59% in gains and hit an impressive 118% growth in 30-days. The AVAX price is still more than 7x below its all-time high.

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While these three altcoins are performing well, Bitcoin continues to dominate the overall market, with its dominance rate hovering above 50% since Oct. 16. When Bitcoin dominance decreases, those funds typically flow into altcoins, which is generally the start of an altseason.